Rich wrote, >Ok, I admit it. I'm a bone nerd. Bones I know. Smooshed pennies and >flaoty pens....I have absolutely no idea what you all are talking about. >How about explaining what they are for us poor beknighted souls who haven't >a clue...... These are souvenir items offered by many places. The smashed penny: There's this machine with a lot of gears inside and a crank. You insert a penny, as well as a number of quarters to pay for the privilege. When you crank the machine, the penny is smashed into a long oval shape and a design is pressed into it. Floaty pens: The back half of the barrell of the pen is clear and filled with water. A scene is printed on a slip of paper inside the barrell, and on the backside the site name is printed. Another element is printed on a clear slip and it floats across the scene. Sometimes there are foreground elements. Sometimes there is glitter, but that's not the same. The most common floating element is a horse & carriage moving in front of a historic. building. Most scenes are logical, but some are very silly. My favorite is the Pieta scooting across the floor of St. Peter's. And when a collector is concerned if a floaty pen works, they mean that the design moves freely through the barrell. If the pen writes, too, all the better! -Carol Kocian ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).